The Glory Blessings
The Glory Blessings
are the means by which God is pleased to lavish upon us blessings
above and beyond all we could ask or think in the here and now.
Yet, they are only a token, a foretaste, a down payment to what
God will reap upon us in heaven. (Mk. 10:29-30)
Now, there is probably little disagreement between Charismatics, fundamentalists, and denominational religionists that the above statement is true. But there is a wide difference of thought as to how we Christians come about receiving such great blessings.
Charismatics
The crazimatics, (I'm sorry, the Charismatics), have a whole plate of erroneous doctrines to satisfy the sweet tooth of their followers. I refer to this menu of empty calorie doctrines as spiritual junk food. This is the type of nourishment the Israelites sought in the wilderness instead of God's manna from heaven. They didn't care for the bland diet of objective, factual doctrines from heaven, but sought a food more appealing. Remember? Oh, God granted them their desire but with it leanness in their souls.
Fundamentalist
Next, we have the fundamentalist. These have an poor diet too, but not the occultic brand of food, but an emotional plate of crying, wailing, pleading, laughing, shouting, and jumping up and down in the ailses. This is their means of worship. It makes a quite a show, but I don't think God finds such outbursts of emotion an acceptable sacrifice.
Denominations
Lastly, we have the denominational, religious types who believe (and correctly so) that the above are lunatics, but go on to believe the old Benjamin Franklin addage, "God blesses those who help themselves," is scripture. They believe in great blessings from God, but only after they die and go to heaven. They have little or no perception of a personal God.
So who's right? They are all wrong because they believe blessings come by works, not grace. I did, too, until I came across the ministry of R.B. Thieme. With his thorough knowledge of the original languages, historical understanding of biblical cultures, and intimacy with the whole counsel of God's word, he points out that God's blessings are reaped upon those who have matured in their thinking. It is the mature who have the capacity to handle God's abundance without it becoming a distraction from Christ Jesus. Now that's a powerful concept. So many forget God after things go well. (see Dt. 32:15)
This refreshing teaching challenged me to search the scriptures. I found his doctrines solid. My search led me to my own findings as well. I found links between God's glory and our blessings and therefore came to coin the term Glory Blessings. Glory blessings are uncommon blessings we receive from our heavenly Father upon reaching spiritual maturity. It is this state of advancement in the spiritual life which brings ultimate glory to God. Therefore, we glorify God by reaching spiritual maturity. Such accomplishment is in fact, the work of God's hands, Is. 60:21, 61:3b. God celebrates our graduation with great blessings. It is at such an appointed time that God is glorified and we are blessed.
One final thought. Man's blessings are ever before God's thoughts. Is God's glory ever before ours?
Ultimate glory is brought to God when we reach spiritual maturity in Orbit 9. But until we reach that heightened plateau, we glorify God on a daily basis in the following ways:
reside in the Sphere of Faith
life upon the Spiritual life line
walk upon the Path of Righteousness
The above terms are part of the Power Spheres Teaching System-a system designed to deliver the Intimate Counsel of God in an efficient, graphic, and objective way. The intimate counsel (IC) of God is the pure, spiritual drink distilled from God's Word by the fires of the Holy Spirit. Let us drink of this true elixir and be controlled by its heavenly influence.
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